Applying for recognition based on a foreign diploma obtained inside the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland

You can apply for recognition for your healthcare profession if:

• You obtained your diploma in one of the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. 
• Your diploma is deemed to be equivalent in a country of the EEA or Switzerland and you are a European citizin and you have 3 years of working experience in the EEA-country or Switzerland.

If you have a specialisation within your profession, first request recognition for your basic profession and thereafter for your specialisation. In Belgium, dentists always need a specialisation: as general dentist, orthodontist or periodontist.

Send the application form for your profession and the required documents for your profession by e-mail to the Department of Care. The required documents are indicated on the application form for your healthcare profession.

Merge all documents into a single PDF, ensuring it is smaller than 10 MB. 

• You can send your application by e-mail to internationaal.niet-universitair@vlaanderen.be for the following health care professions:
  • healthcare assistant
  • midwife
  • nurse
  • specialist nurse
  • special professional titles and special professional competences for nurses
  • paramedical professions
  • physiotherapist
  • special professional competences for physiotherapists
• You can send your application by e-mail to internationaal.universitair@vlaanderen.be for the following health care professions:
  • physician
  • medical specialists
  • general practitioners
  • dentists
  • dentist-specialist
  • clinical psychologistsdoc file185.1kb
  • clinical special needs educationdoc file181.0kb
  • pharmacists

• We first check whether your file is complete. Is your file not complete? We will contact you by e-mail or letter and tell you what you still have to send in.
• As soon as your file is complete, the recognition procedure can begin. 
  • For professions listed in European Directive 2005/36/EC, recognition is granted automatically. 
  • For other professions, we must submit the file to the profession's recognition committee for recommandation. The committee will assess your file and issue a positive or negative recommendation or impose compensatory measures. The committee may also request additional documents and/or invite you for a hearing. 
• We will send you the recommendation, or if the recommendation is positive, the recognition decision immediately, by email. 
• After you have received recognition, a visa application will automatically be initiated with the Federal Public Service Health. You need this visa to practice your profession in Belgium. The FPS Health will review your application. If additional documents are required, the Federal Public Service Health will contact you. Therefore, you do not need to apply for a visa yourself. 
• Did you receive your visa? You can register with the Order of Physicians or the Order of Pharmacists. 
• To apply for a RIZIV number, please contact RIZIV directly.